Home economics page 2

[Urban Forager]

Here's a cleaning tip: I use Hydrogen Peroxide ( I get it at the Dollar Store) and baking soda to keep my sink white and I also use it on cutting boards. We have a grey water system so I'm careful about the cleaners I use.

BTW Sbhikes I made the pistachio pesto and it's fantastic!

[OneDeltaTenTango]

My frugal "waste not, want not" thing is when I'm peeling or chopping veggies, I save the scraps that would normally go into the garbage (onion skins, carrot peels, the hard fibrous center spine of kale, etc...) in a ziploc baggie in the freezer. When the baggie gets full, I boil everything in a big pot on the stove and end up with a ton of veggie broth.

I usually freeze the veggie broth in small containers and use it later in soups or to cook rice in, or even to add to meat to make a nice sauce.

But doesn't this deprive the chickens on the backyard their daily treat?

[Paleobird]

But doesn't this deprive the chickens on the backyard their daily treat?

Yeah, I keep meaning to save bones for bone broth but then my dog gives me those sad puppy eyes and I melt.

[sbhikes]

I have to admit that even though it's sort of wasteful, I get way better broth from bones I purchase specifically for bone broth rather than bones from my steaks or whatever. My butcher really knows what he's doing with the soup bones. They cut a ball joint in quarters and leave some of the meat with all that connective tissue and stuff in it attached. They also sell pig's feet sliced lengthwise. Put a pig's foot in there with the soup bones and you get beef jello! It's delicious! But I saved all the meat from the bones and I saved the feet. I might nibble them for lunch.

[Betorq]

So, I see this is where the girls from Home Ec class are gathering after school... Are boys allowed? I was only 1 of the 2 other boys in my Home Ec in high school, it was chock full of future wives & mothers. Many fond memories of licking bowls & making jokes...

[sbhikes]

Home ec was a requirement for everyone when I was in Jr. High. So was sewing, shop and woodshop. I think home ec was an elective in high school but might have been required because I remember guys in there. Anyway, I'm kinda finding it fun to reuse and be creative while avoiding waste.

[noodletoy]

not being skeered to shop in ethnic markets has saved me lots. we've discussed how much cheaper offal can be there, as well as veggies, spices and stuff like garlic and jalapenos.

buying off-cuts, like pork belly, is super-cheap and the meat is so rich, a little really goes a long way.

bone broth has been a real game-changer for me, health-wise, appetite-wise and $$$$-wise. 1st meal today was beef broth with about 1/2 bag frozen spinach and 3 oz. of braised beef. low-carb, low-cal and i am stuffed.

eta: i don't skim the fat, but use a little hunk of it in each bowl of broth i eat, instead of adding butter or oil.

i haven't been "saving" bones, because i too prefer the meatier, sturdier ones like soup and neck bones. i do pull that meat off the bones after a few hours and freeze it for later use to eat in the broth.

we had some farmer's market tomatoes that were too sad to eat raw, so i cooked them slowly with some fennel seed, thyme, garlic and olive oil. like a confit, til they were very mushy. poured that over some spinach fritters we had with dinner.

i never took home ec, but my economic status changed pretty dramatically about 3 years ago, so i do what's needed.